The This Is Why Tour was the fifth concert tour by American rock band Paramore, in support of their sixth studio album This Is Why (2023). The tour began on March 2, 2023, in Lima, Peru, and concluded on November 30, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia; comprising 49 dates. Elke, Bloc Party, Rozi Plain, Foals, The Linda Lindas, Genesis Owusu and Remi Wolf served as supporting acts on the tour.

Background and development

In May 2017, Paramore released their fifth studio album After Laughter to critical acclaim. The album saw the return of former drummer Zac Farro, who had left the band in 2010. The band toured in support of the album from June 2017 until September 2018. Following the conclusion of the After Laughter Tour, the members of Paramore took a break from writing and recording music for the band and worked on other endeavors. Hayley Williams featured on the American Football song "Uncomfortably Numb" in 2019 and released two solo albums, Petals for Armor (2020) and Flowers for Vases / Descansos (2021); the former produced by Paramore guitarist Taylor York. She also pivoted her attention more towards her hair dye company Good Dye Young and hosted the weekly BBC Sounds series Everything Is Emo. Farro continued his ongoing project HalfNoise, releasing an extended play – Flowerss (2018) – and two albums – Natural Disguise (2019) and Motif (2021). Farro also recorded drums for the songs "Watch Me While I Bloom" and "Crystal Clear" from Williams' Petals for Armor and released an EP under his own name titled Zafari (2020).

Discussion about a sixth Paramore album began in 2020 while Williams was promoting Petals for Armor. Williams hinted that the band's next album would be more guitar-driven, stating, "We've found ourselves listening to a lot of older music that we grew up being inspired by." She further commented on the sound of the album in 2022, likening it to Bloc Party: “From day one, Bloc Party was the number one reference because there was such an urgency to their sound that was different to the fast punk or the pop punk or the like, loud wall of sound emo bands that were happening in the early 2000s.” In January 2022, the band confirmed they had entered the studio work on their sixth album.

In September 2022, Paramore archived all posts on their official Instagram page and unveiled a new design for the website. The site featured a timeline of several dates throughout the month that would be updated each date. These dates saw the launch of the band's official Discord server, the announcement of new tour dates in Los Angeles and New York City, and video snippets of the band working on new material. On September 16, the band announced their first new single in four years, "This Is Why", which was released on September 28. The same day as the single's release, the band announced the album of the same name to be released on February 10, 2023.

Following the release of "This Is Why", Paramore promoted the upcoming album with theater performances across the United States and headlining slots at the Austin City Limits and When We Were Young festivals. On October 10, 2022, the band announced they would go on tour, starting in March 2023, with shows in South America and Europe. A month later, Paramore announced a North American leg, supported by various acts such as Bloc Party, Foals, The Linda Lindas and Genesis Owusu. An Oceanic leg was announced on June 26, 2023.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos gave the tour a positive review, saying it "proved that the best is yet to come" for the band.

Set list

  1. "You First"
  2. "Playing God"
  3. "Decode"
  4. "Pool"
  5. "Running Out of Time"
  6. "Rose-Colored Boy" (contains elements of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston and "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club)
  7. "Told You So"
  8. "C'est Comme Ça"
  9. "I Caught Myself"
  10. "The Only Exception"
  11. "(One of Those) Crazy Girls"
  12. "The News"
  13. "That's What You Get"
  14. "Scooby's in the Back" (HalfNoise song)
  15. "Hard Times" (contains elements of "Heart of Glass" by Blondie)
  16. "Ain't It Fun"
  17. "All I Wanted" Encore
  18. "Still Into You"
  19. "Misery Business"
  20. "This Is Why"
  1. "You First"
  2. "The News"
  3. "Playing God"
  4. "That's What You Get"
  5. "Running Out of Time"
  6. "Hard Times" (contains elements of "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" and "Heart of Glass")
  7. "Caught in the Middle"
  8. "Ain't It Fun"
  9. "Liar"
  10. "Crystal Clear"
  11. "Decode"
  12. "Still Into You"
  13. "Rose-Colored Boy" (contains elements of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)]]" and "Genius of Love")
  14. "Baby"
  15. "Last Hope"
  16. "I Caught Myself"
  17. "All I Wanted"
  18. "Misery Business"
  19. "Crave" Encore
  20. "The Only Exception"
  21. "This Is Why"
  1. "You First"
  2. "The News"
  3. "That's What You Get"
  4. "Playing God"
  5. "Caught in the Middle"
  6. "Rose-Colored Boy" (contains elements of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "Genius of Love")
  7. "Running Out of Time"
  8. "Decode"
  9. "Last Hope"
  10. "Big Man, Little Dignity"
  11. "Liar"
  12. "Crystal Clear"
  13. "Hard Times" (contains elements of "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" and "Heart of Glass")
  14. "Told You So"
  15. "Figure 8"
  16. "The Only Exception"
  17. "Baby"
  18. "Crave"
  19. "Misery Business"
  20. "Ain't It Fun" Encore
  21. "Still Into You"
  22. "This Is Why"
  1. "You First"
  2. "The News"
  3. "That's What You Get"
  4. "Playing God"
  5. "Caught in the Middle"
  6. "Rose-Colored Boy" (contains elements of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "Genius of Love")
  7. "Running Out of Time"
  8. "Decode"
  9. "Last Hope"
  10. "Thick Skull"
  11. "Hard Times" (contains elements of "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" and "Heart of Glass")
  12. "Crystal Clear"
  13. "Figure 8"
  14. "The Only Exception"
  15. "Crave"
  16. "Baby"
  17. "Misery Business"
  18. "Ain't It Fun" Encore
  19. "Still Into You"
  20. "This Is Why"
  • "Caught in the Middle" was added to the set list on March 5.
  • During the concert in Bogotá, elements of Shakira's "She Wolf" were incorporated into the performed of "Told You So".
  • Starting on April 13, elements of "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" by Talking Heads were incorporated in the performance of "Hard Times".
  • During the concert in Dublin, Hayley Williams covered "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac.
  • During the concert in Cardiff, Williams covered "what can you say" by Adrianne Lenker.
  • During the concert in Glasgow, Williams covered "Rip It Up" by Orange Juice.
  • "Misguided Ghosts" was performed in Manchester.
  • "26" was performed in Birmingham.
  • During the second London concert, Paramore was joined onstage by Kele Okereke to perform "Blue Light".
  • During the second New York City concert, Paramore was joined onstage by Lil Uzi Vert to perform "Misery Business".
  • During the encore of the first Inglewood concert, Paramore was joined onstage by Billie Eilish to perform "All I Wanted".
  • During the second Inglewood concert, Paramore was joined onstage by Bethany Cosentino and Rico Nasty to perform "Big Man, Little Dignity" and "Misery Business", respectively.
  • "Told You So" was cut from the set list on July 29.

Shows

List of 2023 concerts
Date (2023)CityCountryVenueOpening act(s)Attendance[citation needed]Gross[citation needed]
March 2LimaPeruEstadio Universidad San MarcosElke21,116 / 24,499$1,692,474
March 5SantiagoChileMovistar Arena16,594 / 16,594$1,212,960
March 7Buenos AiresArgentinaMovistar Arena10,483 / 12,305$701,095
March 9Rio de JaneiroBrazilQualistage8,101 / 8,101$591,702
March 11São PauloCentro Esportivo Tiete36,132 / 36,132$2,894,867
March 12
March 14BogotáColombiaMovistar Arena12,315 / 12,315$653,919
April 13DublinIreland3ArenaBloc Party Rozi Plain12,605 / 12,605$958,486
April 15CardiffWalesCardiff International Arena7,395 / 7,395$569,605
April 17GlasgowScotlandOVO Hydro14,008 / 14,008$995,304
April 18ManchesterEnglandAO Arena15,316 / 15,316$1,183,157
April 20LondonThe O2 Arena36,000 / 36,000$3,092,265
April 22BirminghamUtilita Arena14,911 / 14,911$1,181,520
April 23LondonThe O2 Arena
May 20Gulf ShoresUnited StatesHangout Music Festival—N/a—N/a—N/a
May 23CharlotteSpectrum CenterBloc Party Genesis Owusu14,679 / 14,679$1,254,202
May 25AtlantaState Farm Arena11,630 / 11,630$1,133,447
May 27Atlantic CityAtlantic City Beach—N/a—N/a—N/a
May 28BostonHarvard Stadium
May 30New York CityMadison Square GardenBloc Party Genesis Owusu27,616 / 27,616$3,102,129
May 31
June 2Washington, D.C.Capital One Arena13,947 / 13,947$1,448,355
June 4ClevelandRocket Mortgage FieldHouse10,888 / 10,888$1,013,784
June 5IndianapolisGainbridge Fieldhouse12,006 / 12,006$981,558
June 7DetroitLittle Caesars Arena13,306 / 13,306$1,290,946
June 8TorontoCanadaScotiabank Arena14,500 / 14,500$1,078,432
June 10ColumbusUnited StatesSchottenstein Center13,185 / 13,185$1,096,590
June 11PittsburghPPG Paints Arena13,498 / 13,498$1,136,748
June 13OrlandoAmway Center13,512 / 13,512$1,297,118
June 14HollywoodHard Rock Live6,705 / 6,705$745,957
June 18ManchesterGreat Stage Park—N/a—N/a—N/a
July 6New OrleansSmoothie King CenterFoals The Linda Lindas12,618 / 12,618$994,103
July 8Fort WorthDickies Arena11,165 / 11,165$1,160,869
July 9AustinMoody Center12,262 / 12,262$1,297,850
July 11HoustonToyota Center12,234 / 12,234$1,155,830
July 13DenverBall Arena13,324 / 13,324$1,316,045
July 15Thousand PalmsAcrisure Arena9,954 / 9,954$1,133,420
July 16San DiegoViejas Arena9,447 / 9,447$1,174,914
July 19InglewoodKia Forum28,968 / 28,968$3,345,439
July 20
July 29TulsaBOK Center12,003 / 12,003$1,021,371
July 30St. LouisEnterprise Center12,993 / 12,993$1,128,722
August 1MilwaukeeFiserv Forum11,914 / 11,914$1,073,453
August 2Saint PaulXcel Energy Center14,090 / 14,090$1,125,035
August 7San FranciscoChase Center13,651 / 13,651$1,485,423
August 9SeattleClimate Pledge Arena14,707 / 14,707$1,468,932
November 18AucklandNew ZealandSpark ArenaRemi Wolf10,309 / 10,745$779,999
November 22BrisbaneAustraliaBrisbane Entertainment Center22,148 / 22,148$1,856,876
November 23
November 25SydneyThe Domain26,283 / 26,283$2,243,828
November 27MelbourneRod Laver Arena41,079 / 41,079$3,717,120
November 28
November 30
Total654,586 / 660,227 (100%)$58,785,849

Cancelled shows

List of cancelled concerts
DateCityCountryVenueReason
August 10, 2023PortlandUnited StatesVeterans Memorial ColiseumIllness
August 13, 2023Salt Lake CityDelta Center
January 13, 2024AnaheimHonda CenterUnforeseen circumstances
March 17, 2024Mexico CityMexicoAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
March 21, 2024BogotáColombiaSimón Bolívar Park
March 24, 2024São PauloBrazilAutódromo de Interlagos

Notes